Gene Regulatory Variation Mediates Flowering Responses to Vernalization along an Altitudinal Gradient in Arabidopsis

Suter, Léonie; Rüegg, Marlene; Zemp, Niklaus; Hennig, Lars; Widmer, Alex

doi:10.1104/pp.114.247346

Cited by 31 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 79 publications

(116 reference statements)

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“…In a subsequent study, Suter et al . () found correlations between differences in the expression and regulation of genes involved in the vernalization process and the clinal variation in flowering time across 15 populations originating from different elevations in the Swiss Alps. Combined, these studies reveal the genotype × environment interactions that determine flowering time along elevation gradients in A. thaliana , a key trait found to be under selection also along latitudinal gradients (Ågren et al ., ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Trait differentiation and adaptation of plants along elevation gradients

Halbritter

Fior

Keller

et al. 2018

J of Evolutionary Biology

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Studies of genetic adaptation in plant populations along elevation gradients in mountains have a long history, but there has until now been neither a synthesis of how frequently plant populations exhibit adaptation to elevation nor an evaluation of how consistent underlying trait differences across species are. We reviewed studies of adaptation along elevation gradients (i) from a meta-analysis of phenotypic differentiation of three traits (height, biomass and phenology) from plants growing in 70 common garden experiments; (ii) by testing elevation adaptation using three fitness proxies (survival, reproductive output and biomass) from 14 reciprocal transplant experiments; (iii) by qualitatively assessing information at the molecular level, from 10 genomewide surveys and candidate gene approaches. We found that plants originating from high elevations were generally shorter and produced less biomass, but phenology did not vary consistently. We found significant evidence for elevation adaptation in terms of survival and biomass, but not for reproductive output. Variation in phenotypic and fitness responses to elevation across species was not related to life history traits or to environmental conditions. Molecular studies, which have focussed mainly on loci related to plant physiology and phenology, also provide evidence for adaptation along elevation gradients. Together, these studies indicate that genetically based trait differentiation and adaptation to elevation are widespread in plants. We conclude that a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying adaptation, not only to elevation but also to environmental change, will require more studies combining the ecological and molecular approaches.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Trait differentiation and adaptation of plants along elevation gradients

Halbritter

Fior

Keller

et al. 2018

J of Evolutionary Biology

Self Cite

140

142

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“…Some populations produce multiple seasonal cohorts per year, including winter annuals as well as rapid cycling cohorts germinating in spring, summer, or early autumn (19). This species shows evidence of adaptation to climate on a broad geographic scale (2,(20)(21)(22) as well as along altitude gradients (23)(24)(25). Populations are large (26) and geographically structured over multiple spatial scales (27), maintaining extensive genetic variation.…”

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confidence: 99%

Predicting the evolutionary dynamics of seasonal adaptation to novel climates in Arabidopsis thaliana

Fournier‐Level

Perry

Wang

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Predicting whether and how populations will adapt to rapid climate change is a critical goal for evolutionary biology. To examine the genetic basis of fitness and predict adaptive evolution in novel climates with seasonal variation, we grew a diverse panel of the annual plant Arabidopsis thaliana (multiparent advanced generation intercross lines) in controlled conditions simulating four climates: a present-day reference climate, an increased-temperature climate, a winter-warming only climate, and a poleward-migration climate with increased photoperiod amplitude. In each climate, four successive seasonal cohorts experienced dynamic daily temperature and photoperiod variation over a year. We measured 12 traits and developed a genomic prediction model for fitness evolution in each seasonal environment. This model was used to simulate evolutionary trajectories of the base population over 50 y in each climate, as well as 100-y scenarios of gradual climate change following adaptation to a reference climate. Patterns of plastic and evolutionary fitness response varied across seasons and climates. The increased-temperature climate promoted genetic divergence of subpopulations across seasons, whereas in the winter-warming and poleward-migration climates, seasonal genetic differentiation was reduced. In silico "resurrection experiments" showed limited evolutionary rescue compared with the plastic response of fitness to seasonal climate change. The genetic basis of adaptation and, consequently, the dynamics of evolutionary change differed qualitatively among scenarios. Populations with fewer founding genotypes and populations with genetic diversity reduced by prior selection adapted less well to novel conditions, demonstrating that adaptation to rapid climate change requires the maintenance of sufficient standing variation.climate change | annual plant | genomic prediction | season O ngoing climate change is causing rapid shifts in environmental selective pressures within local populations (1, 2). To persist, populations must track the shifting multivariate trait optimum by phenotypic plasticity or adaptive evolution (3, 4), or migrate to keep up with poleward shifts in their original climate niche (1). The outcome of these responses to climate change will depend upon the seasonal variation a population experiences, particularly in temperate climates, where seasonality is a major source of environmental heterogeneity (5, 6). Understanding adaptation to seasonal environments is critical for predicting the response to climate change in short-lived organisms with multiple generations per year, like many insects and annual plants. Such prediction requires theoretical projections based on solid empirical foundations, tracking phenotypic change in complex traits as well as in the molecular variation present within populations as they adapt to different seasons. Here, we use a genomic prediction model, based on experimental data from Arabidopsis thaliana, to simulate trajectories of adaptation to novel climate scenarios in season...

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“…The correlations of life history traits with climate (Montesinos et al, 2009;Debieu et al, 2013;Suter et al, 2014;Wolfe and Tonsor, 2014) and edaphic conditions and interspecific competition (Brachi et al, 2013) in natural populations of Arabidopsis suggest that these are selective agents driving local adaption. A number of genes have been identified as candidates for local adaptation in Arabidopsis, including, for example, variants that affect flowering (Lempe et al, 2005;Stinchcombe et al, 2005;Balasubramanian et al, 2006;Shindo et al, 2006;Hopkins et al, 2008;Li et al, 2014), seed dormancy (Kronholm et al, 2012), drought-induced Pro accumulation (Kesari et al, 2012), sodium accumulation associated with distance to the coast (Baxter et al, 2010), and molybdenum accumulation associated with soil molybdenum (Poormohammad Kiana et al, 2012).…”

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confidence: 99%

Salinity Is an Agent of Divergent Selection Driving Local Adaptation of Arabidopsis to Coastal Habitats

et al. 2015

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Understanding the molecular mechanism of adaptive evolution in plants provides insights into the selective forces driving adaptation and the genetic basis of adaptive traits with agricultural value. The genomic resources available for Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) make it well suited to the rapid molecular dissection of adaptive processes. Although numerous potentially adaptive loci have been identified in Arabidopsis, the consequences of divergent selection and migration (both important aspects of the process of local adaptation) for Arabidopsis are not well understood. Here, we use a multiyear field-based reciprocal transplant experiment to detect local populations of Arabidopsis composed of multiple small stands of plants (demes) that are locally adapted to the coast and adjacent inland habitats in northeastern Spain. We identify fitness tradeoffs between plants from these different habitats when grown together in inland and coastal common gardens and also, under controlled conditions in soil excavated from coastal and inland sites. Plants from the coastal habitat also outperform those from inland when grown under high salinity, indicating local adaptation to soil salinity. Sodium can be toxic to plants, and we find its concentration to be elevated in soil and plants sampled at the coast. We conclude that the local adaptation that we observe between adjacent coastal and inland populations is caused by ongoing divergent selection driven by the differential salinity between coastal and inland soils.

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Gene Regulatory Variation Mediates Flowering Responses to Vernalization along an Altitudinal Gradient in Arabidopsis

Cited by 31 publications

References 79 publications

Trait differentiation and adaptation of plants along elevation gradients

Trait differentiation and adaptation of plants along elevation gradients

Predicting the evolutionary dynamics of seasonal adaptation to novel climates in Arabidopsis thaliana

Salinity Is an Agent of Divergent Selection Driving Local Adaptation of Arabidopsis to Coastal Habitats

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